San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-09-29


Then he took me to his arms and held
me tight, and kissed me again and again
on the lips, till / tore myself from him,
abashed and confused.
"Now you are all my own," he said,
land am yours. We are pledged to each
other. l will you exactly what we will
do''-he had his whole plan complete in
his head. 1--WE will go up to London.
You shall live with John Huntspill, my
partner You shall learn the things which
you have to learn; and then, when you
are externally TO oil the world what you
are now to my eyes alone, will take you
to my mother, and say to her, Mother,
this young lady from Dorsetshire is going
to be my wife.
"Your motherr' My heart sank a
little.
Eyes. By the way" he added, with o
laugh, "she is very particular about family
and rank; what shall we sayF'
my fathers rank was ships carpen-
ter" l said, simply.
He laughed. 1--WE will tell her the ex-
act truth, and ask her if she would find q
lovelter girl among the bluest blood. I
forgot to tell you that my mother is
blind "
Then, holding my hand in his, he be-
gan to tell me all about himself and his
mother.
He was an only child. His father was
a city merchant, whom the king knighted
during his year as lord mayor. He was
Sir Godfrey Campion. His neither was q
widow. She lived in the city, he told me,
in the square Of Great St. Simon Apostle.
He would be himself, in two years, by his
fathers will, nominally the senior partner
in the house Of Campion & Co., of Lon
don, Bristol and Jamaica. But John
Huntspill would do the work.
81 should like to tell you another thing,
dear" he said. "My mother and parted
in anger. She-one must not think i'll Of
ones mother-but she does not remember
that / am nearly twenty-three years Of
age. We quarreled on account of my
violin. She thinks a fiddle only fit for an
Italian musician, for a bear leader, or for
sailors ashore. Above all, she thinks it
unsuited to the head of a city house.
Perhaps it is, but then you see / never
wanted to play the fiddle in the office.
And Observation-Disclosures was a scene
one evening My dear mother has high
spirit; and when she came in comparing
her son-the fiddle scraping son-wth his
late father Sir Godfrey CampiOn. and
when that son declared that the COMPARE
son was not fair and one thing led to an
other, why-there is nothing strange in
the fact that the son resolved to take his
fiddle into the country for awhile. That
is how l came here"
eyes" said, trying, in my ignorant,
country way to realize what all this meant
the lord mayor, knighthood and the
rest.
"Was your father an admiralr' asked
at length He stared for moment and
then burst out laughing. OF course he
always laughed at everything. Years
afterward | asked him how it was he did
not lose patience with so much ignorance.
"Lose patience?n he asked, in his silly,
delightful way, ''it all helped TO make me
love you the more madly."
Now, it was not such very great ignor-
ance after all, because l had heard of
admirals who were knighted 1t was
natural for me to think that all men who
were called sir were admirals.
There is one thing which no woman can
ever understand-whati it is in her, and
her alone, that makes a man fall down
and worship her. | was the most simple
and ignorant of country girls and he was
gentleman. Yet he riSked the happi-
ness of his whole life on the chance that
should become what he imagined me to be
already. My heart sinks still with sort
of humiliation to think how unworthy of
that true and loyal gentleman | was.
You will see presently of what things |
was capable.
We went home at length, hand in hand,
across the fields. Will said nothing to
Dan, and we had our tea Just as usual,
only that was silent.
In the evening Will went out accom-
panied by the two boys. l had quite for
gotten about Joshua and wondered little
at his leaving me.
1t was dark when they came back.
Will had his left hand tied round with a
pocket handkerchief, his right eye was
black and he had got a cash across his
cheek. He had been fighting Joshua
Mech, and he had left, as l sfterward
learned, that hero senseless on the
ground
Jephthah-or was it Job?-announced
the battle and its results. HE be give
Joshua a drubbing," he said, with a
cheerful chuckle.
Now, no one in that house bore Joshua
any grudge, and yet at the news we all
congratulated ourselves and the victor
am almost ashamed now to think that Will
was more glorious in my eyes than ever.
There could be no fiddling that evening,
and Dan had double ration of brandy
punch.
A fight in those days was a mere episode
in a mans life. 1t might occur at any
moment. Everybody fought, and gen
tleman learned boxing rs a part of his
education.
But was anxious thai there should be
no bad blood, and the next day went
over to the mill to see Joshua. 4
His face was good deal more battery
than Wills. 1t was evident that he wy
taken punishment manfully. He an
me to go into his own room for tally
ut is your politeness, suppose. A.
gan, ''that makes you fight streV
tlemanY' ats "
whats fghtT' he repliedlIe "
nothing neither to him nor to .Sdled
well plucked one, he is, as ev,pse." Z
pair of fists. Which makesp n
What is worse, JoshuF; s'leasance ,
Now, no more foe, comes Of g,
You listen to me. NIJwith young "
young gentlemen dar lit. He's got d
girls. Besides, Woo
"You won't hav : his hand on the u
"No," he said. l. &. There! You've si
table 81 won'St
got to be my wotyour wife?" n,
owe got-.rynave. I've told Dan W
"Of c0urr I've been saying up for 3
long ago. ~ Next Easter Sunday ! IL
it these tSp'bo CoHtmusdl
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